However, Mr Kavanagh said the gloves were not much good if a syringe tears out of a bin bag.

“There is a better glove, but they’re costly, and you can’t give them to everyone. [The council] give us as much equipment as they possibly can,” he said.

DCC also supplies waste-collection workers with a small needle-disposal box in which they can store any syringes found.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “It is worth noting that such ‘sharps’ boxes are only used in cases where needles are clearly identified or visible on the roads.

“They do not account for the unseen needles that are placed into litter bins or that are swept up by road-sweeping vehicles during the regular sweeping of the city streets.”

Drug users

Tony Duffin, director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, which provides outreach services to those suffering from drug addiction, said the organisation estimated that at least 400 drug users discard used needles in the city centre every month.

Mr Duffin said a pilot project by DCC to install two special needle-disposal bins, in Wood Quay and St Audeon’s Park near Christchurch Cathedral, has been a success.

“The further roll-out of public ‘sharps’ bins across the city would reduce the amount of discarded ‘sharps’ and keep us all safer from harm,” he said.

Legislation to set up injection centres where drug users can safely use and dispose of syringes passed through the Seanad in May.

The first centre is to be opened in Dublin city centre before Christmas.

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the passage of the legislation on injection centres was “historic”.

Mr Ó Ríordáin had pushed for the introduction of injection centres in 2015, while minister of state with responsibility for drugs.